Posts Tagged ‘John Wall

Ladies and Gentlemen, John Wall has arrived. In only his sixth game as a professional basketball player, John Wall recorded a triple-double in a 98-91 win over the Houston Rockets last night. The rookie from Kentucky scored 19 points, had 10 rebounds, and 13 assists, not to mention 6 steals to give the Wizards their second win of the young 2010-2011 season.

With this game, Wall becomes the third youngest player of all-time to record a triple-double, just 11 days short of Lamar Odom and 45 days short of LeBron James. Wall also became the sixth player in NBA History to record a triple-double within his first six games, a list that includes Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. These aren’t just good players, these are Hall of Famers and All-Stars.

This game really was Wall’s coming out party, and no better place to do it then at home in the Verizon Center. Wall was flawless in all aspects of his game, he could penetrate and kick it out to open three point shooters, or use his amazing speed to blow by everyone on the fast break. Now there is no doubt that Wall was the right decision as the No. 1 pick, and there will be no Kwame Brown part two in this case. This kid will be a superstar.

The Wizards may only be 2-4 this season and may not be the most competitive team at times this year, but the future looks bright. If Ted Leonsis can bring in players to compliment Wall, this team could be very dangerous and possibly make a title run within years to come. Yes, John Wall is that good.

The Washington Wizards began the 2010-2011 season under new leadership. No, not a coach, but a rookie point guard by the name of John Wall. The future of the basketball team is to be built around him, and he has many expectations to live up to.

Wall and the Wizards tipped-off the season last Thursday in Orlando against the Magic, a favorite in the Eastern conference. The game was not a good one for the Wiz. The team lost 112-83 thanks to a big night from Dwight Howard (23 pts, 10 rebounds) and a vintage night from Vince Carter, who went 8-12 for 18 points. John Wall did not shoot the ball well, as he went 6-19 for only 14 points. He did have nine assists however. The only bright spot for the Wizards was the play of Cartier Martin, who put up 17 points in 24 minutes.

Two days later the Wizards traveled to Atlanta to face the Hawks. The team played a much better game, but still lost 99-95. John Wall had 28 points and 9 assists and had help from Al Thornton and Andray Blatche, who had 28 and 24 points. However, the Wizards only had 10 bench points, all from Yi Jianlian, and allowed Joe Johnson to take over the gamein the fourth, scoring 14 of his 25 points in the quarter, and grabbing the win against the Wizards, dropping them to 0-2 on the season.

Tuesday night, the Wizards had their home opener against the 0-3 Philadelphia 76ers and the second overall pick Evan Turner. It was a back-and-forth game that saw greatness from John Wall and Lou Williams. Wall had his first double-double of the season, and was one steal away from a triple-double, with 29 points, 13 assists, and 9 steals. Williams came off the bench to score 30 points. Down by 3 with 3.1 seconds left, Wall inbounded the ball to Cartier Martin who hit a game-tying three as time expired, sending the game into overtime. Just the like regulation, overtime was back-and-forth. But a key play by John Wall was eventually the deciding factor in the game. On a Andre Iguodala fastbreak which appeared would result in an easy slam to put the Sixers up by 2, John Wall came from behind and fouled/blocked Iguodala, sending him to the line. Iguodala only hit one free throw, and thank to two free throws by Andray Blatche, the Wizards took a one point lead. The Sixers wouldn’t be able to make get another basket, and Washington won 116-115.

The Wizards are now 1-2 on the season. Their next game is at New York Friday night against the Knicks, followed by a home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers Saturday night. John Wall has played very well, the rest of the team just needs to come together. Washington is also waiting for the return of Gilbert Arenas and Josh Howard, who have both been out with injuries.

Oh yeah, if you didn’t already know, you ain’t messin’ with John Wall’s dougie:

John Wall has been named the Las Vegas’ Most Outstanding Player. Wall led all players with 23.5 points and 7.8 assists in the four games he played in. He had two double-doubles, and scored a huge 18 points in the third quarter against the Hornets that gave the Wizards a one-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. His leadership was felt immediately, and his quickness and athleticism stunned the crowds.

Friday night the Washington Wizards were looking to improve to 4-0 in the NBA Summer League against the New Orleans Hornets. And what a wild game it was. After being down 13 at the half, John Wall had an insane quarter, scoring 18 of his 31 points (Game Changer!) to help bring the Wiz back into the game. The fourth quarter was a nail-biter, and it came down to the final shot. With 2.2 seconds left, Craig Brackens hit a three to put the Hornets up 89-88. But then, Lester Hudson hit the game-winning bucket that gave the Wizards the 90-89 win. Wall finished the game with 31 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals. JaVale McGee finished with 29 points and 8 rebounds. Check out the last seconds of the game:

The following afternoon the Wizards were trying to keep all the momentum from the buzzer-beater win, and go for a perfect 5-0 record against the New York Knicks. However, the team would have to do it without John Wall and JaVale McGee, the two best players so far for the team. The game was a thriller, and had to go into overtime. In the end, the Knicks won the game 109-107 behind Leo Lyons’ 21 points. The Wizards had very solid performances from multiple people. Cartier Martin scored 24 points, Lester Hudson scored 19 points and had 9 assists, Kevin Palmer had 21 points, and Trevor Booker had 15 points and 7 rebounds.

Overall, the Washington Wizards 2010 NBA Summer League campaign was a huge success. The team finished with a record of 4-1, saw great things from John Wall and JaVale McGee, and saw very good things from players competing for roster spots, such as Cartier Martin.

The excitement around the team is growing, and there is definitely much promise in the young talent. Now the hard part will come, as Flip Saunders determines who to keep, and who to cut.

The Washington Wizards truly looked like wizards on the court in the first quarter of last night’s 88-82 win over the Dallas Mavericks. The team got off to incredible start, as they grabbed a 15-0 lead early, and never looked back. The Mavs came close to taking the lead a few times, but they could not dig themselves out of an 18-point hole.

The Wizards were led by, who else, John Wall. Wall got his second straight double-double, scoring 21 points (13-15 from the line), and dished 10 assists. He was three rebounds away from getting a triple-double, with 7. JaVale McGee also came up big, scoring 18 points, and Cartier Martin, who played in 8 games for the Wiz last season after being called up from the D-League, was the top scorer of the night for the team, scoring 23 points total, and 15 in the first half. He also went 5-5 from three, and 8-10 from the line.

The Wizards are now 3-0 in the NBA Summer League, and will look for fourth straight win tonight against the New Orleans Hornets.

After a strong debut from John Wall and a victory in the summer league debut, how would the Washington Wizards respond the following night against the Los Angeles Clippers? How about with a blowout win and a double-double from John Wall and JaVale McGee.

Wall showed once again why he was the No. 1 pick in the draft, showing great leadership, quickness, and ball skill. Wall scored 18 points (a perfect 8-8 from the line) and had 10 assists for his first double-double in the summer league. McGee, who had a double-double last night, recorded another one, scoring 10 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Nick Young, who did not play last night, scored 18 points as well.

As a whole, Washington outrebounded the Clips 34-31, shot 47% from 3, and went 18-20 (90%) from the line. They also won the turnover battle 23 to 30, 8 of which came from Wall. All this added up to a 89-64 win for the Wizards, who take the court against the Mavericks Thursday at 8 PM.

On a side note for all the Terp fans out there, Nick Caner-Medley scored 17 points tonight for the Clippers.

Yes, it is only the NBA Summer League, where much of the players on the court are playing for roster spots, but to score 24 points and record 8 assists is still impresive, especially if it is your first game. Well, John Wall did exactly that last night in the Washington Wizards’ 84-79 win last night.

In the beginning of the game, Wall played a little sloppy turning the ball over and at one point getting blocked going for a layup, but as the game went on, Wall took control of the game, scoring at will and being very vocal, commanding the offense and defense. Wall went 7-15 from the field, and went a very impressive 10-11 from the free throw line. Three of Wall’s eight assists were alley-oops to JaVale McGee, and one was an alley-oop to Raymar Morgan.

McGee, who is entering his third season in the league, is the front runner to become the starting center for the Wizards. In his two seasons, McGee took a lot of heat for being too soft for his size, and it appears that he has listened. McGee looks bigger and played more physical, scoring 21 points and securing 13 rebounds, something we’ve been waiting for.

John Wall has brought a lot of hype to the DC area, and big expectations for the future. Last night, albeit in a summer league game, Wall lived up to the hype. And what’s even better about all the hype, Cox Pavillion was sold out last night. Just saying.